PIRIRA Opens At Luna Stage This Friday, Oct 12

Luna Stage will launch its 2018-19 Season with J.Stephen Brantley's award-winning play Pirira, directed by Luna's new Artistic Director Ari Laura Kreith. Opening Night is set for Friday, October 12 at 8pm. Set in Malawi amidst riots that took place in the city of Llilongwe on July 20, 2011, Pirira introduces us to American aid worker Jack and MBA auditor Ericka who are forced to take shelter in the storage room of Jack's struggling NGO. Meanwhile, half a world away, Malawian college student Gilbert and his gay co-worker Chad begin another day in the back room of a Manhattan florist. The shadows of HIV, poverty, drought and gender-based violence cloak the lives of these four young people. Pirira is the winner of the New York Innovative Theater Award for Best Premiere of a Play.

"Bringing this play to Luna allows us to frame our first season as a series of powerful cross-cultural conversations about central issues that affect us all," says Kreith. Playwright J. Stephen Brantley adds, "At a time of such tribalism in our own country, it's useful to look beyond our borders-beyond both our national boundaries and our personal biases-to consider how our choices can impact people, for good or bad, in far off places."

Pirira explores the challenges of international aid across interpersonal borders, and asks how we bridge seemingly impossible cultural divides. The cast includes John P. Keller, Kevis Hillocks, Naja Selby-Morton and David Gow. Pirira is inspired, in part, by Brantley's experiences as a writer for Madonna's NGO Raising Malawi and also by William Kamkwamba's autobiographical The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Pirira runs Thursday-Sunday from October 4-28. Tickets are on sale now at www.lunastage.org/pirira. A limited number of tickets for Opening Night are available, including access to the post-show party with cast and creative team.

Pirira by J. Stephen Brantley, Directed by Ari Laura Kreith
At Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road, West Orange, NJ | 973 395 5551
October 4 through October 28, Performances Thursday through Sunday
Tickets: www.lunastage.org/pirira
Running time: 70 minutes, no intermission. www.lunastage.org

Photo: David Gow, John P. Keller, and Naja Selby-Morton in Pirira at Luna Stage